A convicted felon engaged in “a gunfight at the OK Corral” on a bustling Chicago street while he was on electronic monitoring for a felony case, authorities said Wednesday.
Kevin Cousins, 21, is the 41st person accused of killing or shooting—or attempting to kill or shoot—someone in Chicago while awaiting trial for a felony this year. The alleged crimes involved at least 78 victims, 18 of whom died.
Kevin Cousins allegedly participated in a gunfight on Argyle Street in Uptown. | CCSO; Google
Cousins, on electronic monitoring, was with a group of people on the corner of Argyle and Kenmore when a drive-by shooter opened fire around 2:50 p.m. on August 13, according to prosecutors. During the incident, a 59-year-old man was shot.
According to Assistant State’s Attorney Eugene Goroshko, Cousins ducked between two cars, then popped up with a pistol in his hand and returned fire toward the shooter’s car. He then rode away on a bike, collided with a parked minivan, and ran from the scene as someone stepped out of the van and began shooting at him, Goroshko said.
“For lack of a better term,” Judge Susana Ortiz said upon hearing the allegations, “in the middle of the city streets, here we have a gunfight at the OK Corral going on.”
The shooting was recorded by a collection of surveillance cameras that “clearly” showed Cousins ducking down as the initial shots rang out and then returning fire, according to Goroshko. Video also allegedly shows Cousins passing the gun off to someone else who flees the scene after the shooting.
Police who patrol the area recognized Cousins from the video footage and located him Tuesday.
Goroshko said Cousins was on electronic monitoring for a pending charge of aggravated battery to a police officer. He was on parole for the robbery of a 64-year-old victim when he picked up that charge, according to Goroshko.
Prosecutors charged Cousins with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon by a felon. He is not criminally charged with firing the gun or shooting anyone.
Cousins, according to Assistant Public Defender Patrick Shine, “did not start this shooting.” Cousins, he said, is studying for his GED and has four children under the age of seven.
Ortiz granted the state’s request to hold Cousins without bail.
The “not horrible” series
This report continues our coverage of individuals accused of killing, shooting, or trying to kill or shoot others while on bond for a pending felony case. CWBChicago began our series of reports in November 2019 after Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans publicly stated, “we haven’t had any horrible incidents occur” under the court’s bond reform initiative.
The actual number of murders and shootings committed by people on felony bail is undoubtedly much higher than the numbers seen here. Since 2017, CPD has brought charges in less than 5% of non-fatal shootings and 33% of murders, according to the city’s data.
